Speech and Testimony
County Executive Remarks at the Funeral of Officer Noah Leotta
As prepared
On behalf of everyone in Montgomery County, I want to express our sincere condolences to Officer Leotta’s family -- to his parents, Marcia and Richard; to his sister, Shana; to his grandparents, and to his many relatives, friends and fellow officers gathered here today.
He was a true son of this County, having grown up here, graduated from Sherwood High School, and attended Montgomery College.
It is always difficult to find something positive when someone so young and with such a bright future has been struck down in the midst of life.
Yet even in our sorrows, there is one idea I’d like to leave you with today:
Noah Leotta was a good man who died tragically doing a good deed.
Or, to put it another way, Noah Leotta was a mensch who died tragically doing a Mitzvah.
The work he had chosen is essential to our community. The responsibilities of a police officer are often dangerous and stressful. Investigating crimes, arresting suspects, dealing with irate people – all of those bring their own challenges and rewards t the end of the day.
What Noah was doing on the day he died was, to me, of a different nature from other police work.
I hesitate to call it a higher calling, but it was different. From the start of his career in law enforcement, Officer Leotta was concerned about getting drunk drivers off of the roads. His internship was under Officer John Romack, who spent much of his career successfully arresting drunk drivers. He volunteered for the holiday alcohol task force, and the members of the task force wanted him. He shared their commitment to the mission of keeping our roads safe. He knew that at this time of year, when people like to celebrate, it was essential to get those who have celebrated too much off of the roads, or to warn them of the consequences of their behavior if they were planning on celebrating later.
Just before he went out for his last assignment, Captain Tom Didone, asked if he was having fun.
Officer Leotta replied, “Absolutely. I’m getting drunk drivers off the road.”
Preventing loss of life, preventing the ruination of many lives, is a mitzvah of the highest order.
Today let us dedicate ourselves, not only to Officer Leotta’s memory, but to his duty and his passion.
Let us impress on our state legislators the need for stronger laws and punishments for drunk and drugged driving. Let us work for ignition interlocks and other measures to prevent those with a history of impaired driving from getting back on the road in similar conditions. Let us take meaning from this tragedy, to commit ourselves to making our roads and our community safer, in Noah Leotta’s memory and in his name.
December 15, 2015; 11 a.m.
Covenant Life Church, 7501 Muncaster Mill Road, Gaithersburg